Into the Water: A Novel

I hadn't thought that I would read this book, but it is July's #buddyread on Litsy, so I thought I'd give it a try. I am so glad that I did. First off, the format of the story is a little bit hard to get a handle on, but once you can keep the characters straight, it becomes an easily, quickly read mystery. I like the back and forth between first person, and sometimes second person, narrators. The story is never boring, but sometimes I found myself thinking, can we please stop trying to be so coy with the plot line? In the end, I think that any questions I had about who-dunnit, were satisfactorily and plausibly answered. If you like hard to figure out mysteries, this is the book for you.

I wanted to love Into the Water as much as I did The Girl on the Train, so I stuck with it, eventually tearing out the character list near the book’s title page for referencing, just so I could keep up with all the voices! Hawkins is such an excellent writer, and that’s the reason one keeps reading. If anything, readers are reminded by book’s end that nothing, absolutely nothing, is ever as it first appears.

I picked up Into the Water for a book club. This book is a moody, tangled web of memories, secrets, and long-buried trauma told through a chorus of distinct voices that come together like pieces of a jagged mosaic. The town of Beckford is haunted by its history of women drowning in its infamous Drowning Pool, and in this novel, the water is as much a character as any of the townsfolk. At first, I felt overwhelmed by the number of POVs, but thankfully the book includes a cast list, which became my lifeline during the first half. Once I got a feel for each voice, it was easier to follow the shifting narratives, and I began to appreciate how masterfully Paula Hawkins gave each character their own pain, flaws, and motives. This story centers on Nel Abbott’s suspicious death and the many ripples it creates: her estranged sister Jules returns to Beckford, grappling with childhood trauma and unresolved resentment; her teenage daughter Lena lashes out in grief and confusion; and Detective Sean Townsend, whose family is deeply entangled in Beckford’s dark legacy, begins to unravel under the weight of secrets he’s kept buried since childhood. Hawkins does a great job building tension through unreliable memories and the collective denial of a community used to looking the other way. I appreciated how the theme of generational trauma was woven into the mystery, especially through Sean’s fragmented recollection of his mother’s death and Jules’ reckoning with the assault that drove a wedge between her and Nel. I found myself heartbroken by how many women in this story were silenced, written off, or outright forgotten. The mystery wrapped up neatly, but not with a satisfying bow. There is no justice for Nel, no published book to bring light to the women lost to the Drowning Pool. Instead, there’s a haunting sense that while the truth has come to the surface, Beckford will always be a place where the water keeps its secrets close. That said, the character arcs, especially Jules’ slow thaw toward Lena, offered enough emotional resolution to keep this from feeling hopeless. This is a broody, atmospheric mystery best read with patience and a pen for notes. Not a happy ending kind of book, but a satisfying one.

YAWN. The most long winded MOST predictable book I have read in a very long time. What suspense? What mystery? To call this a thriller makes me laugh out loud!

I firmly believe there are times that each chapter being a different POV works and pushes the story further.

There are also times that even though you can predict the twists, it’s so well written you enjoy the journey. THIS WAS JUST BAD!

This book is the least readable book I have read in sooooo long. Each POV switch it so abrupt and useless. Kills the flow, and prevents the reader from becoming interested in any of the characters. There is also too much given away. It’s waaaaay too easy to guess the twists. If you can even call them that.

Also in “good” writing generally each POV reads differently since you are in so many characters heads. In this book they all read the same.

Bought this at a used book store and still regret the 5$ spent.

The audiobook was a bit confusing due to the many different characters but overall I loved the book and the writing style it is in.